Event: Hallows

As the first in our series on festivals and other special events in the Bay, we take a look at Hallows, which takes place at the juncture between the months of Little Tober and Great Tober.

What is Hallows about?

The primary purpose of the Hallows festival is to celebrate the end of the year’s successful harvest. Hallows is a time to thank Voland for the bounty of the season that will hopefully sustain everyone through the long winter. The festival can be seen as an analogue of Thanksgiving.

Because the start and end of seasons can vary from year to year, sometimes the harvest runs later than expected; when that happens Hallows is postponed until the work is done. What this means is that Little Tober continues, adding more days beyond the usual 25, until the harvest’s end, at which point Hallows day occurs. Days added to Little Tober are subtracted from Great Tober.

Though not directly related to the harvest, tales of horror abound during Hallows. Somewhat linking to the harvest, many of the stories include scarecrows come to life roaming the countryside. One particularly famous scarecrow is known as Mister Unlucky, who has a massive pumpkin for a head and is said to devour children in the night. The stories say that children can protect themselves from Mister Unlucky and the other scarecrows by saying a prayer to Voland and hanging a wreath in their windows on Hallows night.

What are normal Hallows activities?

On Hallows day, a special service is held outside of the kirkhall. A large bonfire is built up, but not immediately lit. Instead there is a ceremony where a pumpkin is placed among the wood by the Keeper as a symbolic sacrifice to Voland. Only once the sacrifice is in place is the bonfire set ablaze and the pumpkin is consumed by fire, symbolizing Voland’s acceptance of the gift.

After the ceremony the Keepers generally organize games and festivities for the children, while adults go about their business. One game involves the Keeper masquerading as Mister Unlucky and chasing the children, who must hide from the mad scarecrow or be gobbled up. This game is usually the last played, and concludes with the ringing of the kirkhall bell at sunset, signalling the dinner hour.

While some of the time without the children is spent preparing the evening meal, it is tradition among many for a couple to take the opportunity to share their bed. As a result, many children are conceived on Hallows, and there is a spike in births around the end of Great Solen and beginning of Little Greening.

What is eaten during Hallows?

The highlight of the festival is the evening feast. The term feast may be a bit misleading; the people of the bay in no way overeat as is common in real world Thanksgiving, but they do eat more than usual. Waterfowl is the traditional dish, usually duck among the commoners, while nobles and the wealthy eat goose. Some families may not be able to afford even a duck, and so they will often resort to other fowl such as chicken or squab.

Side dishes that you might find at the meal include potatoes, squash or pumpkin soup, and a variety of greens. Some households also bake a special cranberry bread for the occasion. The specifics of the food in any given table can vary wildly, just as in the real world.

Possible Adventure Hooks

The most obvious adventure hook relating to Hallows is Mister Unlucky. You can have your adventurers deal with disappearing children, and discover that the stories of living scarecrows are more than just stories. This adventure should probably conclude with a fight against Mister Unlucky himself, perhaps with a retinue of ghasts or scarecrows.

A more mundane threat to deal with during hallows might be bandits. Following the successful harvest, the freshly reaped food is nowhere to be found. The player characters may discover that varkers are behind the missing stores, or perhaps the culprits are closer to home, people living in their midst looking out only for themselves rather than the community.

If you want to bring the Blackwood Scions into your adventure, either of the above hooks could be adjusted to their aims. Mister Unlucky and his followers could be constructs created by the Scions to spread terror and undermine the Baron’s rule, or could even simply be Scions in disguise. For the missing food hook, the Scions could again be attempting to undermine the established authority, or they may be simply building up their own stores in preparation for something bigger.

Monday: The Hodekin Nation